We’ve all had those moments. A family member or close friend sees some of your work or hears you’re interested in cake decorating and asks you if you can decorate a cake for a special occasion. It could be a wedding, baby shower, 1st birthday or Grandma’s 90th! Whatever the occasion, you want to help and you want to do a great job but how do you come up with clever, inventive and exciting cake decorating ideas for your next project?
This post will go through a range of different areas and ideas that will help you to create sugary, sweet and wonderfully attractive cakes each and every time.
First, let’s start with where ideas come from.
If we look at the ‘official’ definition of inspiration it’s “ the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.” This means that you need to get your brain into the right headspace to start your creative juices flowing. Now this is sometimes easier said than done, particularly when you’ve got deadlines at work, family commitments, teenagers to deal with (or tweens or little ones for that matter!) and a whole host of other things that life throws at us and demands our attention (wouldn’t it be nice to be able to lock ourselves in a comfortable, well ventilated room with drinks and nibblies and just decorate cakes with no interruptions. Hey, I can dream can’t I?).
So how do we go about getting inspiration for our cake decorating projects? Here’s some ideas.
This is one of the easiest ways to get some great ideas for your cake. There’s a whole heap of books, websites and literature about cake decorating that you can glean information from. Here’s a few of our favourites.
Handi Mulyana
We love Handi’s work and are so excited that he’s coming to Brisbane and running three workshops with us in July. Take a look at his work here.
http://www.handiscakes.com/
Duff Goldman
Duff has taken a cake decorating journey that many of us can take inspiration from. After demand for his cake inspiration decorations skyrocketed he threw off the shackles of his day job and started a bakery.
Check out the gallery of caked here. http://www.charmcitycakes.com/gallery
Mike McCarey
Have you ever seen a cake and thought to yourself “there’s no way that can be a cake!”. Well, that’s what Mike specialises in.
Take a look at his creations here. http://www.mikesamazingcakes.com/cakegallery.htm
Next time we’re overseas we’re definitely going to have to make a stop in at some of these amazing bakeries. But if you’re like most of us you will have to make do with looking at them (whilst drooling) via the internet.
Demel in Vienna
Cute, quaint and sweet, the cakes at this bakery look amazing (we’re pretty sure they would taste amazing also!) and there’s even a cake museum out the back!
Check out some of the confectionery art here.
http://www.demel.at/en/frames/index_kunst_sonderoffert.htm
Conditori La Glace in Copenhagen
The oldest bakery in Copenhagen is bound to serve up something special. Just take a look at some of their beautiful cakes here.
http://www.laglace.dk/en/index.php/selection/lagkager
Bakerbots in Toronto
Not only are they renowned for their cakes and pastries... they also make pretty amazing handmade ice cream sandwiches.
Check out their cake portfolio here.
http://www.bakerbotsbaking.com/cakeportfolio.htm
Magnolia Bakery in New York City
In 1996, Magnolia Bakery opened its first location on a quiet street corner in the heart of New York City’s West Village and has been making wonderful creations ever since!
http://www.magnoliabakery.com/
There’s a multitude of great websites, social sites and image sites that can help you draw inspiration for your next project. Here’s just a few that we like to check out every now and then.
Pinterest
A visual playground for creatives and people who make things. There’s loads and loads of cake decorating tips on this platform. Create an account or sign in with Facebook and get pinning!
NOTE! - Don’t forget to add us to your feed :-) https://www.pinterest.com/lollipopcakesup/
Tumblr
This platform might not be as well known as Pinterest for gathering cake decorating ideas, but there’s still plenty of gems on there. Take a look at this link below.
Cake decorating on Tumblr
Twitter
If you like small manageable chunks of content or you want to follow some of your favourite shops (hint hint) or artists, this is the place to do it. Take a look at the link below.
Cake decorating on Twitter
Google+
Whilst Google+ tends to be more of a haven for nerds, geeks and computer types, there are still some great ideas floating around on there. Check them out.
Cake decorating on Google+
Flickr
If you’re not into words, techniques, how to’s and long lists of instructions and just like to look at gorgeous, amazing cakes that have been decorated by amateurs, professionals and everyone in between then this is the site for you!
Cake decorating on Flickr
Vine
This is a side project of the people over at Twitter and is full of 6 second videos. I know that 6 seconds doesn’t sound like much if you’re trying to get in a cake decorating technique or a how-to on a particular tool, but you would be amazed at what people will fit in 6 seconds!
Cake decorating on Vine
Youtube
We’ve left this one till last as no doubt you’ve probably already found many videos on this platform that have helped you in your cake decorating journey, but there is an amazing amount of content available for you to go through.
Cake decorating on Youtube
One of the quickest ways to pick up a new technique or skill is to learn from others that are more experienced than you. Sure you can go online and watch endless videos but sometimes it’s nice to be standing right next to someone to see how they do something.
Lessons and Workshops
A quick search online will let you know of any lessons or workshops that are in your area. We’re sure you can find them :-) Remember that Lollipop Cake Supplies also has workshops and lessons available. Find out more here.
Handi Mulyana 3D Giraffe Cake Course - 2 Day Workshop Only $660
Regular Classes
Check out our full range of cake decorating courses .
Meetup
Meetup is a great resource to find groups that get together on a regular basis to talk, discuss and learn about things they’re interested in and yes, you guessed it... there are Meetups about cake decorating. No matter what part of the world you’re in there’s probably a Meetup group for you.
Cake decorating on Meetup
Cake Decorating Guilds
You can have the best ideas in the world but if you don’t have the skills or know-how to put them into reality you won’t see the image in your minds eye come to fruition. If you usually use Marzipan or fondant icing, try something different and use Butter Cream. Experiment with different piping bag nozzles or have a go at making some sugar flowers.
Think about the themes that you stick to and go outside of that, or even the opposite of this. If you usually work on wedding cakes for example, consider doing a cake in a different theme (no not divorce!) but perhaps a horror or halloween theme. This will teach you new things and put you out of your comfort zone.
Check out our range of cake decorating courses .